The past two days found my Dad, my buddy Tom, and myself out enjoying the excellent weather we had here in Nebraska. Calm waters and lots of sun equaled some great time on the water. We decided to go after some smallies, and I’m glad we did.
The first fish was a real dandy that turned out to be the biggest of the two days at 16 3/4". The first day I’d say we brought about 13-15 smallies into the boat. We also went after a few walleyes and could only find the small fries. They were very aggressive hitting jig/gulp combos, which was still quite a bit of fun.
The 2nd day we went after smallies again, and while it took us a while to get em all, it was rewarding. My dad got this nice 16 1/4" fish in, and would you just look at the color on that fish! He really tackled dad’s jig and gave him a wrestling match.
Here’s yet another one that was over 16". I know these aren’t the nicest smallies you’ll see, but down here in south central Nebraska, they’re not too bad…especially for us guys who aren’t really ‘bass guys’. 
I’d say we got around 25-28 smallies in the boat the 2nd day. As always, every fish was returned safely, and I encourage anyone else who catches these great fish to release the keepers as well.
The pictures turned out nicely, and I would like to thank my friend and Nebraska fisheries biologist Daryl Bauer for a tip he posted recently: right before you take the picture, turn the fish back and forth to make them a bit uncomfortable so they’ll arch their dorsal fins. Worked like a charm for these fish. Thanks Daryl!
We also went after some walleyes and had a tougher time even finding the smaller ones the 2nd day. We even caught a suspended sauger over 30 FOW, which I was thought was a big strange. I do know of a few other limits caught the past couple of weeks, but we sure could not find them. I’ve also heard of and seen a lot of perch caught lately, which is sort of new to us, but is being well received.
I don’t expect this weather to last very long….now if only I could get more time off work.
Nice report, Brian. Love them smallies!
Great looking Bronze fish Brian
Nice fish Brian! Wish I was there with you.
And nice pictures too. If you want to refer back to the tip Brian referred to, you can see it here, Fins Up
Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
Bauer’s Barbs and Backlashes
P.S. Watch my blog for some more information on Nebraska “smallies”, coming soon.
Nice report Brian!
Love the tip on getting fish to raise their fins just prior to snapping a picture. That’s a new one to me that I’ll be sure to try. Thanks guys!
Nice report Brian. I sure wish I was there.